In the works of Sakurai Yasuko, it is the slightly subdued textures found within the white surfaces of her porcelain that blends well with her silhouettes. Another defining characteristic of her works is the presence of myriad apertures. In fact, such holes were a formative style that Sakurai had originally established in her stoneware works before 1999 to 2001, when she first acquired the techniques of Limoges porcelain. I find that the artist devotes the great majority of her artistic energies towards the creation of such apertures. Sakurai forms these holes through the use of slip-cast porcelain tubes. By organically attaching these tubes together by pouring porcelain slip between the pipes, the artist is able to first develop a basic form for further creation. From this amalgamation of tubes, Sakurai begins to carve out a desired form from the porcelain, thereby allowing her to "discover" and complete her work. The firing temperature for her porcelain is approx. 1280 degrees Celsius.

Are not Sakurai's apertures, which seemingly dominate her creative passions, directly linked to her unique philosophy of deduction? Holes represent some form of loss, yet such deductions also help to create perfection in her works; these seemingly antagonistic properties help elucidate her aesthetics. At the same time, the effects brought about directly by Sakurai's holes actually replenish such spatial deductions. It is the presence of "light" which evidences the effects of such holes. Light accentuates the shadows borne from each aperture, and which caress the body of Sakurai's works. In fact, the shadows and her works are one and the same. Each aperture gives birth to a dialogue between light and shadow, and allows for the creation of vivid expressions. In other words, the holes make an otherwise incomplete work into a perfect whole. It is as if Sakurai creates works that are meant to be receptacles for capturing not only light and shadows but the tastes of each and every viewer. Yet such a serendipitous creative process will not always accurately reflect Sakurai's philosophies; however, I find that it is this element which makes her works even more precious and pure.